Chapter 24 - By the Beach
published: Monday, 31 December 2018
"Is it hot in here?" Percy stammered. He quickly untied his bow tie and set it down on the table, then proceeded to undo the top two buttons of his shirt.
Percy nervously clicked his pen as he fidgeted in his seat.
What if she changed her mind? What if she was having second thoughts?
Percy wanted nothing more than to race down the halls and find her, but as wedding traditions went, the groom could not see the bride before the wedding. His mother had been very insistent.
As a result, Percy hadn't seen Annabeth since the day before. Considering they lived together in Manhattan, it was strange for Percy not to hear her chiding him for exploding the microwave or something else.
Suddenly, the pen was plucked out of his hand.
Percy's head shot up in protest.
"I'm confiscating this," Jason declared firmly, tossing the pen back into Percy's desk.
They were in the Poseidon cabin at Camp Half-Blood, waiting for the cue.
Grover, Percy's best man, was up at the receiving line with Sally, Paul, Chiron and Thalia, Annabeth's maid of honour.
Frank has gone to the Aphrodite cabin, where some campers were helping Annabeth get ready. Percy assumed Piper was racing around the place trying to keep everything organised and on time. She had been stressing about the wedding for months now.
"Can I see Annabeth?" Percy asked Jason.
Jason sent him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. You know you can't."
Percy slumped in his chair. "I wish I could see her. Just to make sure she hasn't run off."
Jason snorted. "Run off? You must be crazy. You two are basically fated to be together."
Percy ran a hand through his hair. "I know. I'm just nervous. I mean, this is probably the most important day of my life; what if something messed it up? A monster with a vendetta? A mix-up with the cheeses?"
Jason patted him on the back reassuringly. "It'll be fine."
The door to the cabin burst open, and Nico came sprinting through between rapid pants.
"Nico, what the hell?" Percy scrambled to his feet and hurried to his friend.
Nico's suit was ripped and scratched all over, and his Stygian sword hung from his belt.
"Monster...attack..." he managed to get out.
Jason helped him to the chair.
"Percy!" Piper yelled as she stalked into the cabin.
"Nico's injured!" Percy yelped.
Piper scanned him over. "He's fine," she decided. "There was some trouble with a Cyclops on camp borders."
"Exercise..." Nico choked. "Not really...my thing."
"Will wouldn't let him shadowtravel," Piper informed Percy.
"He really is a significant annoyance," he heard Nico mutter.
Piper waved a dismissive hand impatiently. "But we're now one groomsmen short, so I'm going to need you, Jason, to get the food organised instead. And Percy, you're going to join the receiving line so they can keep an eye on you."
Percy paled slightly. "What?"
Piper rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. You've fought Kronos and Gaia."
"This is so much worse," Percy groaned.
Piper quickly ushered them out and sent Nico off to Aphrodite's cabin to be patched up.
"I left the caterers with Leo," Piper told Jason, pointing in the direction of the beach. "So hopefully he hasn't annoyed them into leaving."
"Don't leave me," Percy whimpered, but Jason gave him an encouraging thumbs-up and followed Piper's orders.
"You need to go over there," Piper instructed Percy, directing him to where his parents were stood with Grover, Thalia and Chiron at the camp entrance.
"Hey," Sally whispered to Percy. "How are you doing?"
Percy winced. "It could be worse."
Another group of guests traipsed in, less familiar to Percy this time, but he instantly recognised them.
"Percy!" the girl with the colourful hair cheered as she rushed over to high-five him.
"Hey, Sadie," Percy chuckled as he happily obliged.
On her left arm was a man with dark hair and a tanned complexion. Percy assumed he was Walt, hosting Anubis, the Egyptian god of death. Percy suddenly realised that Greek and Egyptian gods at their wedding might cause a problem.
"Hey, Carter," Percy gave Sadie's brother a one-sided hug and waved to the girl at his side, whom Carter later introduced as Zia, his girlfriend.
"Where's Annabeth?" Sadie asked excitedly. "I haven't seen her in ages!"
Percy gestured back to the Aphrodite cabin. "She's getting ready. Can't see the bride before the wedding."
"I'm gonna pop by and say hi," Sadie informed in, dragging Anubis off. Carter and Zia made their way to the beach and took their seats.
Percy turned around to see Piper panting as she rushed up to him.
"How's it going?" Percy teased.
Piper glared at him. "Hey, this is your wedding. Why am I so stressed?"
"Because you're the most organised person among us," Percy told her.
Piper groaned. "You're right." She huffed and read over her clipboard again. "You know, people just don't understand what RSVP means. 30 Hunters and Artemis arrived today with zero notice at all!"
Percy glanced to the beach, where the group of immortal teenage girls were huddled in an uncomfortable group. Artemis, on the other hand, was very friendly and was chatting with the other guests. Percy silently prayed she wouldn't scare away his mortal friends.
"Percy!" his mum called. "Someone else is here!"
Percy walked back to her and saw a whole group of people sauntering up. His eyes widened as he scanned over them.
Uh oh.
"Magnus!" Percy yelped nervously. "Hey..."
Magnus shot him an apologetic look. "I couldn't make them stay."
Alex hugged Percy.
"The invitation stated a plus one, not plus five," Percy whispered. "It's great that you all came. I just wish you'd called first." He nervously glanced back at Piper, who was staring daggers at him.
"Sorry, organisation isn't really our thing," Alex told Percy apologetically. He was wearing a tuxedo today, a black suit and a white shirt, with a navy tie.
"I'm Malory," the red-headed girl who reminded Percy so much of Clarisse said gruffly as she painfully shook his hand. "Malory Keen."
The giant of a man next to her introduced himself as Half-born, and the tinier, skinnier man on her left was TJ.
A Muslim girl in a hijab came up and introduced herself as Samirah, but Percy already recognised her from Magnus' descriptions. She had come with her fiancée, Amir.
Next were Blitzstone and Hearth, whom Percy already knew from Magnus' stories. Hearth signed, "Thank you for having us here" to Percy, to which he signed back, "It's no problem." At least he hoped he did.
"You know sign language?" Magnus asked in surprise.
Percy shrugged. "A little. I had a friend in my class when I was 7 who was deaf. But I'm pretty rusty now."
He turned back to the group. The last man had blonde hair, huge muscles and a goofy grin on his face like he was stoning.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Percy," Percy stuck out a hand politely.
He didn't notice Magnus and Alex's nervous looks.
The man grasped Percy's hand and shook it so hard and fast, Percy was reminded of Tyson, who didn't know his own strength.
"Hello, I am Thor."
Percy paled slightly and glanced at Magnus, who winced.
"Th-Thor?" Percy stammered.
Thor puffed up his chest proudly. "The god of lightning."
Percy faked a miserable laugh. "Oh, this is fantastic."
"I know, a god at your mortal wedding, aren't you a lucky one?" Thor ruffled Percy's hair, which made Piper let out a small squeak of annoyance.
Small flashes of light dragged Percy's attention away from the Norse god.
The first to appear was Aphrodite, then Ares. And before Percy could react, all the Greek gods started appearing behind the Norse group.
Percy let out some colourful curse words under his breath. He didn't think the gods were coming. He and Annabeth had sent them invitations, under the assumption that only Poseidon, and possibly Athena, would come.
Not the entire Olympian council, 90% of whom had tried to kill him before.
"Why don't we get you all seated?" Piper stepped up to linked her arm through Thor's, shooting Percy an alarmed look.
"Lets's!" Percy gritted his teeth and plastered a smile across his face.
Fortunately, Thor didn't seem to mind, and the Norse group followed Piper down to the beach.
"I'm just going to ask the Hecate kids to conjure about a million more chairs," Piper hissed at Percy as she passed him. "Any other guests I should know about?"
Percy muttered a weak "thank you" as she passed him.
He let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding. "Two gods of death and two gods of lightning at my wedding," Percy muttered. "Wonderful."
"Percy!" a shrill squeal broke through the air.
Percy winced but tried to smile as he approached Aphrodite. "Hello, my lady. I didn't think you were coming."
Aphrodite gasped. "And miss the biggest wedding in history? Surely you must be joking!"
She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him like they were old friends. Percy stood as stiff as a statue until she unwrapped her arms and sashayed back to Ares.
"Congratulations, punk," Arss said gruffly. "I thought you'd die before this day came."
"Sorry about that," Percy told him. "I'll try harder next time."
"That's the spirit." Ares clapped him on the back.
"Ah, Percy!" Apollo declared as he walked up and also gave Percy a hug. Percy was petrified; when did the gods stop trying to kill him and become his closest friends?
"This is a wonderful occasion," Apollo said in delight. "And I've composed several equally wonderful haikus to recite as Annabeth walks down the aisle–"
"That's really okay!" Percy yelped a little too quickly. He cleared his throat. "What I mean is, Piper's already arranged everything, she'd be a little disappointed if it was messed up."
"Maybe at your funeral, then," Apollo said in what was supposed to be a comforting voice. He wandered back to the other gods, muttering lines under his breath.
"Peter Johnson!" Mr D said in his tone of perpetual irritation. "I see that that Annie Bell girl finally agreed to marry you."
Percy bit back a sarcastic remark and tried to smile. "Yes, Mr D."
"Reminds me of when Ariadne and I got married," he mused. "Not even close to the grandeur of ours, of course. But we had ours on an island too."
As he continued to babble on, Percy took the chance to discreetly slip off to the other gods. Thalia, Grover, his mum and Paul had all been greeting the gods as they walked in, but they each seemed to want to specifically speak to Percy.
"I made you a gift," Hephaestus said in his deep voice. "I placed it in the gift pile." He gestured to the stack of presents on a table.
"Thank you," Percy said gratefully. Hephaestus was one of his more preferred gods, because he hadn't tried to murder him, and was a fairly nice guy. He just had some social issues.
Artemis seemed to have come back to join her siblings and family. "Perseus," she told him. "I didn't have a chance to see you earlier. I just wanted to say that I'm very proud of the man you've become, from that small, scrawny, skinny, weak boy of 14."
Percy really loved the emphasis on his scrawniness. "Uh, thank you."
Next was Hestia, who wasn't an Olympian, but Percy had wanted her to be here anyway. She had given him strength during the second Titan war, and she was basically the nicest god there ever was.
She gave Percy a hug too, the first one he actually appreciated. Today, she wasn't in her usual form of a child, and appeared to be a beautiful 20-year-old brunette.
"Ah, Perseus," Demeter declared as she hugged him. "I remember when you were just a gangly teenager. Then you started eating your cereal. I have never been prouder."
Was I really that scrawny? Percy wondered.
Another goddess walked up to Percy and gave him another hug. She had golden hair, a bright smile, and kind eyes. Percy didn't seem to recognise her, and he rapidly ran through a list of gods and goddesses in his head before she became offended.
"Ah, my dear heart," Hades, wearing all black, kissed the woman on the cheek.
That gave it away. She had to be Persephone. Percy had met her before, but once was in her sickly winter Underworld form, and the other times were during solstices, where he'd been more concerned with remaining alive.
"You look surprised to see us, Perseus," Hades said. "You didn't think we would miss our two most important heroes bonded together in matrimony, did you?"
"Thank you?" Percy meant it as a statement, but it came out more as a question.
The couple following Hades and Persephone were two gods Percy didn't think he could ever forget.
Zeus and Hera.
Hera had been expected, since she was the officiator, much to Annabeth's chagrin, but Percy didn't think the king of the gods would take out his precious time to attend a demigod wedding.
And he made that a point. "We don't do this very often," Zeus informed Percy. "But all of us agreed–"
'For once,' Percy added in his head.
"–that this was a special occasion."
Percy nodded. "Thank you," he said truthfully. After over a decade, it seemed right that the gods were finally showing him thanks for all his sacrifices.
"Perseus," Athena said stiffly.
Percy's eyes widened. Annabeth would be so happy that her mother came. "My lady," he rushed and bowed clumsily.
Athena pursed her lips. "I'm here for my daughter, and nothing else."
Percy thought back to the last time he had spoken to Athena – before he had proposed to Annabeth last year.
Percy walked out of the elevator and out into Olympus as he had done a million times before (mostly to bring Annabeth lunch).
He expected to have to search for the goddess he was looking for, but once he stepped into the throne room, she appeared with a brilliant flash of light and a scowl.
"Perseus," Athena frowned. "What are you doing here?"
Percy took a deep breath. "My lady, I am going to ask Annabeth to marry me."
She took a moment to process the information.
Athena raised an eyebrow. "And have you come for my blessing?"
Percy couldn't help the grin that grew across his face. "No, actually. I know you disapprove of our relationship, but it's the 21st century, and I don't need your blessing to propose, because ultimately, it is Annabeth's choice whether she says 'yes' or 'no'."
"Then why have you come here?" Athena said sharply. "A show of impertinence?"
Percy shook his head. "No. You're her mother, and I know Annabeth would not want to lose you over this. So I thought you should be the first person to hear about this."
He turned his back to her and walked towards the exit.
"Perseus," Athena's voice echoed around the circular room.
Percy glanced back at her.
She had a stoic expression written across her face.
"You have my blessing."
Percy grinned. "Thank you, my lady."
Truth be told, that day had been one of the most terrifying days of his life. Percy had been sure she was going to zap him into oblivion. But he supposed Annabeth had probably saved him from that.
Athena nodded curtly to Percy as she moved to join the other gods.
And the best was saved for last.
"Percy, my boy!" Poseidon boomed as he grasped Percy in an enormous hug, chuckling deeply as he beamed.
Percy hugged his dad back, the second hug they had ever shared.
Poseidon couldn't seem to stop smiling, and he looked a million times happier than Athena. "Are you nervous, Percy?"
Percy bit his lip. "Um..."
Poseidon chuckled. "It's not a problem. Every man gets nervous before his wedding." He expression turned serious. "But believe me, Percy, you and Annabeth are meant to be together."
Percy shuffled his feet nervously. "Everyone's been saying that. But is it really true?"
"I see Aphrodite every day," Poseidon deadpanned. "If the goddess of love's support isn't confirmation, then what is?"
"It's just that..." Percy gestured towards Athena. He noticed with a jolt that Poseidon's silver tie matched Athena's dress – a peace offering, perhaps.
Poseidon sighed. "I know Athena appears to be extremely against this marriage. And she may be, but I know that she isn't stopping it because she knows how good you are for Annabeth. How well you will treat her, and how much you will love her."
That gave Percy more comfort than any other comment had.
Poseidon patted him on the back one last time. "We should get seated. I believe the ceremony is about to start soon."
Percy glanced to his right to see Piper beckoning frantically for him to follow her. His heart sped up slightly as the gods left to go to their seats. It was almost time.
"Come on," Piper whispered. "The music's going to start soon." Grover and Thalia has already disappeared, and Percy was the last one to leave.
Piper took him down to the beach and left him at the front of the aisle. Hera, the officiator, was standing in the centre of the small stage, and Percy stood to her right.
Percy felt comfort in knowing the sea was just next to him. The waves were calm and the skies were clear – a 'thank you' from the gods.
Percy could see every single guest from his vantage point, and he could see all eyes on him. His friends and family were all gathered to watch this, and some of them even gave him thumbs-up signs for support.
There had to be over a hundred guests; demigods from Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, the Hunters, the group from Valhalla, the Egyptian magicians, and the Olympians.
Soft music started to play, and Percy glanced to where Apollo and a few of his children were playing a guitar, a violin, a cello, a piano, and there was someone on the light drums.
The instrumental version of a song Percy recognised started to play – Ed Sheeran's 'Photograph'. [ video above ]
The first people to emerge was Estelle, Percy's younger sister, and Chuck Hedge, Coach Hedge's son. Estelle, now 9 years old, was the flower girl, and Chuck Hedge, who was a year older than her, was the ring-bearer.
A soft "aw" rippled across the audience as they walked along the aisle in their poofy dress and little tuxedo. Estelle sprinkled flowers along the aisle as her mother had taught her, and Chuck followed behind her with a small pouch in his hand.
Next were Grover and Thalia – the best man and the maid of honour. Grover had his arm through Thalia's, and she was carrying a bouquet of lilies.
As they stepped out into the aisle, everyone's heads turned to look at them, taking some pressure off of an already terrified Percy.
Jason and Piper followed after Thalia and Grover reached the halfway point of the aisle. Then Frank and Hazel, Leo and Calypso, Nico and Will, and finally, Tyson, Bobby and Matthew, all arm-in-arm as they walked down the aisle.
The groomsmen were all wearing suits with black bowties and the bridesmaids were wearing different dresses of the same elegant shade of sea-green. [ picture above ]
Except for Thalia. She was wearing a pantsuit, even at Percy's wedding.
As Grover reached the stage, he and Thalia separated to either sides of the aisle. He whispered to Percy, "Are you ready?"
Percy shuddered. "Not at all."
It only got more nerve-wracking as each groomsman approached the stage and gave Percy an encouraging smile.
What if he said the wrong name during the ceremony? What if she never showed up?
Percy had a sudden moment of panic. He had seen so many marriages collapse upon themselves. What if the same happened to Annabeth and himself?
As Tyson, Bobby and Matthew finally reached the stage, Percy felt his heart leap in his chest. This was it. One of the most important moments of his life.
The song gradually shifted to a higher key, and it was finally time to welcome the bride.
The guests stood up and all heads turned to the end of the aisle, anticipating the bride.
When Annabeth stepped onto the aisle, Percy's vision tunnelled.
Percy sucked in a breath. "Wow."
All of a sudden, it was like nothing else mattered. Percy didn't care about the hundreds of guests staring at them, or their friends waiting behind.
It was just Annabeth and Percy.
For the rest of their lives.
Percy wasn't nervous anymore. This was the rightest thing he had ever done in his entire life. He was ready to spend every day waking up to see her beautiful smile, and spend every night falling asleep in her warmth.
Annabeth's grey eyes locked with his for a moment, and she smiled her dazzling smile, leaving Percy dumbfounded at how in the world he had ever managed to get someone like her to fall in love with him.
Annabeth looked beautiful; but then again, she always did. Her dress was sleeveless with a sweetheart neckline and a silver band at the waist. The skirt of the dress was made up of layers of white mesh on top of each other, and she wore white heels that made indents in the sand as she walked. Her blonde curls tumbled down her shoulders in messy waves, and a simple braid circled the crown of her head.
Percy thanked all the gods that none of the Aphrodite girls had caked Annabeth's face in make-up. She still looked like Annabeth, just in a dress.
Chiron was in a wheelchair, wheeling himself with one arm and his other arm linked in Annabeth's. Since Frederick had passed away a few years before in a car accident, Chiron had gladly stepped in.
In the second row, Percy could see Athena's genuine smile of happiness as she watched her daughter.
Chiron removed his arm from Annabeth's as they reached the stage, and he whispered something in her ear that made her laugh quietly.
Annabeth proceeded to walk up the stage, and came face to face with Percy.
"You look..." Percy trailed off. There were no words. "...incredible."
"I didn't know you knew such complicated words," Annabeth whispered to Percy.
He rolled his eyes and they shared a small grin.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Hera's voice projected across the shore. "You may be seated. We are gathered here today to join Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase in the bonds of holy matrimony."
Percy winced when she used his actual name. So much for no one knowing about it.
He glanced over at Annabeth to see if she was doing fine and hadn't busted some moves on Hera yet.
Hera's gaze swept over both of them and her eyes softened. "With my experience, I can sincerely bid both of you a happy journey ahead. I have known both of you since you were children, and it has been a delight to see you grow into teenagers, and then mature into the adults standing here today. And throughout all the hardships and obstacles, you were always together. Of all else, I respect that."
Annabeth gave Hera a begrudging smile.
"Now, the vows," Hera declared.
Annabeth took her flash cards from Piper and held them just in case, though she had already memorised them all. Percy hid a grin; that was definitely Annabeth.
"Percy," Annabeth started. "I met you when I was 12, when I had close to no family. We went on our first quest together, and soon, I began to see you as my very annoying friend."
Laughs ensued across the guests.
"But as the years went by, you became my less annoying friend," Annabeth continued. "You became the most loyal person I'd ever met. Some people ask me when I fell in love with you." She gazed at him. "I don't think it was a split second decision. I think it was when you held me in Siren's Bay, but also when you were willing to risk your life to save me. Or in Mount St. Helens, where we shared our first kiss because you were too dumb to realise that I liked you."
Again, the laughs. Percy blushed. He had been pretty dense.
"4 years of that!" a voice from the guests shouted, which Percy recognised as Clarisse's, earning laughs from everyone.
"I began to fall in love with you from the very beginning; it just took me a while to realise it," Annabeth said simply. "And when I did, it only made it worse, because I thought that you didn't feel the same way. That brings me to the second thing I love about us; our friendship. We have so many years behind us, and ahead of us, and it comforts me to know that no matter what I will face, I will face it with not only the love of my life, but also one of my best friends. I didn't want to act on my feelings all those years ago, because I didn't want to ruin the fragile friendship I'd spent so long trying to build. I quickly realised that our friendship was the strongest there ever was, and it would take a lot more than that to break it."
Annabeth bit her lip. "Percy, I promised to love you forever many years ago, and I'm doing it again today in front of everyone we know because I still plan on keeping that vow. I promise to love you in sickness, in health, and even when you put aluminium foil in the microwave."
Percy flushed red. "It was one time," he protested to the laughing crowd.
"I have always loved you, I still do, and I always will," Annabeth told him. "And I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives with you showing you exactly that."
Cheers and applause erupted as she finished her speech, making Annabeth blush and tuck a piece of hair behind her ear as she always did when she was embarrassed.
Percy knew how hard that must've been for her. Annabeth wasn't the type of person to openly proclaim her feelings when she was feeling it. But she had swallowed her fear down and done it anyway.
That made Percy want to just pull her in and kiss her even more.
Grover held out Percy's notes – a folded, crumpled piece of A4 paper. Percy waved him away. He knew exactly what he wanted to say.
"I'm going to do this as quickly as I possibly can," Percy rushed. "Because I haven't kissed you today, Annabeth, and it's killing me."
She laughed.
"All my life, I always thought that, with a childhood like mine, I couldn't possibly have a happy ending. I didn't think I deserved one. But now I know that I do, because I have you," Percy said softly. "And you are the reason I wake up in the morning, and the reason I have enough strength to actually go to work and be an adult. Annabeth, you make me the happiest person on this planet – and on any other planet because I'm pretty sure aliens exist—"
Percy shook his head. He was getting sidetracked. "Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is; you've made me the happiest person, and I will spend forever trying to make you feel the same way."
"Loads of people ask me whether I regret giving up immortality," Percy continued. "The sincere and genuine answer is no. Because any life without you, especially a never ending one, isn't worth living. I have never once regretted the choice I made that day, and I know I spouted all that crap about wanting to live my life, but the real reason was you.
"Moving on to more depressing things, when we were in Tartarus, and I had you and only you, you gave me the strength to keep on walking even though my lungs were on fire and I couldn't feel my feet. If I had fallen in there myself, there was no way I could've even survived the day. It made me treasure you, and I also realised how lucky I was to have you at my side.
"Annabeth Chase, I promise to love you in sickness and in health – and since you made the point about the microwave incident – even when you spew architectural facts that make me want to jump back into Tartarus," Percy joked. "You said you'd love me forever, and I would now like to join in on that promise. I will always love you, Annabeth Chase, and I can't wait to be your husband."
The guests clapped for Percy, though the only person he could see was Annabeth. She slid her hand in his and entwined their fingers.
"That was beautiful," she whispered.
"I know, I didn't think I could be that articulate," Percy whispered back.
Annabeth looked impressed. "How many words did you learn for today?"
"I got 'word of the day' toilet paper," Percy promptly told her, which made her burst into fits of laughter that she covered up with coughs.
Hera cleared her throat. "If the bride and the groom could stop choking, we shall now do the rings."
Annabeth slowly calmed down as Chuck passed her the pouch. She took out Percy's ring and slid it onto his finger, and he did the same with her.
"If anyone has any objections to why these two should not be wedded, speak now or forever hold your peace," Hera announced.
Percy's eyes widened in sudden panic. He thought he'd asked Hera to skip over that bit!
In a moment of miracle, Athena did not stand up and yell, "Step away, sea scum!"
After a few moments of silence, Hers continued, "Now then, with the power invested in me by, well, the universe, I now pronounce you...husband and wife."
Percy rushed forward, sliding his arm across Annabeth back as he spun her around before dipping her and pressing his lips to hers.
He felt her gasp against his mouth, but she soon began to fervently kiss him back.
They drew away at the same time, panting for breath.
Annabeth clutched his hand. "Later," she whispered to him.
Percy groaned.
She laughed and dragged him down the stage. "Oh, Percy."
They sprinted down the aisle as everyone threw petals at them. Annabeth laughed as her hair whipped around in the wind, and Percy ran at her side. They came to a stop at the end of the aisle, and everyone was cheering and applauding.
A loud splash drew everyone's attention to the lapping ocean waves. Strings of water spiralled into the air to form a heart, and a flock of owls danced through it.
As everyone "ooh"ed and "ah"ed, Percy glanced to where the gods were sitting. Poseidon grinned and Athena gave him an infinitesimal nod.
Percy brushed Annabeth's hair away from her face. "I love you," he breathed.
She looked like she wanted to make another sarcastic remark, but she bit it back. "I love you too," Annabeth whispered.
Percy pulled her in for another kiss.
The first day in the rest of their lives.
—*—
dear readers,
happy new year! to celebrate 2019, I figured I'd give you guys a look into Percy and Annabeth's future. this chapter was so pure and beautiful to write, and i hope it made you feel the same way when you were reading it.
I apologise for the random hiatus in the last few weeks. I had a packed schedule and didn't find any time to finish a full update. I'll try to keep the updates regular from now on, and I hope this chapter partly makes up for the delay.
edited later: thank you so much for he 2K reads ! this is the best way I could've asked for to start 2019 ❤️❤️
have a good new year!
- jessica williams